Shipping Times...

Alright… thought this would be a good idea so here goes.

One touchy subject that i like to investigate before i order ANYTHING online is shipping times and rates. However, the problem with that idea is that its hard to get that kind of information unless there is a review( which works most of the time) or unless you order with a Express order. So i was think maybe it would be a good idea to compile a Database that can be available to all Steepster members that gave a general idea about shipping times around there area. For example

Many places have a delivery map on their website, but sometimes it takes them a while to actually get it into the postage system. Most places have some kind of deal around the holidays/Black Friday, but sometimes that adds to the processing time. Look up teadeals.com. I am in upper Ohio.

Here are the ones I have ordered from often, and they are very consistant:
The fastest places for getting your package out are Upton and Adagio for sure. You would have those in about two days, especially if you ordered in the morning. They are the fastest over and over. For Harney, transit is about 2 days, but it might take them up to two days to send it out, and maybe three if they just had a coupon code. (I have not ordered from Adagio for a while, but they sometimes have coupon codes, and usually free shipping around the winter holidays.) Harney runs a code about every few months for free shipping over $25 otherwise it is over $50, with a rate of $5.50 below those numbers. I have never seen one at Upton, but their flat rate is like $4.20. Adagio’s normal rate for US is $3.75 and after $50 it is free.

Now for the ones I have only ordered a few times…..
-52teas. I don’t think he ships every day, so it just depends when he is posting. Sometimes it is three days, sometimes a week from Kansas. Shipping is always included in the price for US.
-I have made two very small orders at Teavana. It takes them a few days to get the package out, and few in transit, so about 4.
-Lupicia was about a week for me, but they are in California. Free shipping at $45.
-thepuriTea was also about a week total, but they are also California. Free shipping at $50, but they run codes sometimes.
-EnglishTeaStore.com takes a few days to get in the system. They are in PA, but still a few days transit. I usually plan on a week, even to Ohio. I always wait for them to have a shipping deal.
-Ovation Teas takes a bit because I think she blends each order. About a week to here from Washington State? Ordered last time with free shipping.
-Teavivre is fast to get the package out..about a day, but transit time can easily be 6 days to two weeks from China. Free shipping over $30.
-It has been a while since ordering from them, but The Tea Table was a day or so to ship out, and about three to get here from Colorado. They usually have a % off, but never a shipping code, or even a break at a certain price level. It just goes up. I ended up finding them kind of expensive for what your get.

All the other places I ordered were only a one time situation, but there were no issues. The Tea Spot, Zhi Tea, Den’s (which reminds me I need to sample those!), Angelina’s Tea…..(still thinking.) And many of my reviews are not on the review list because it was too long ago to remember specifics and the listing method for online retailers was adapted well after the fact.

Another great way I think that we can all discuss shipping times is within the Places tab. There you can write a review and also mention how long it took you to get there. So this is another option to consider, and you can search for specific places this way. There is another topic related to reviewing places online that you may find interesting too: http://steepster.com/discuss/2134-help-me-review-online-tea-retailers

Okay, I hope what I just said did not come across too negative, I’m just trying to add in suggestions. Anyway here are a few places I’ve ordered from and the time it took to arrive in Ontario, Canada:

(China) Jing Tea Shop: 9 days (air mail?)
(Japan) Yuuki-Cha: 6 days (again probably air mail)
(Canada) DavidsTea: Probably a week or so (ground shipping)
(Canada) Camellia Sinensis: Probably a week or so (ground shipping)
(Canada) Tweed & Hickory: Probably a week or so (ground shipping)
(China) TeaVivre: A couple weeks, but this was during a busy time (air mail)
(US) Chicago Tea Garden: A couple weeks, during the holidays, and may have been poked by customs ;) Tea still tasted good though!

Teavana has taken up to 10 days to ship to me in California before. Usually no less than 5-7.

Adagio is my one true love because I can have a hankering for something one day, and be drinking it the next. Placed an order yesterday morning and it’s on the delivery truck today so it should be waiting for me when I get home from work! Yay :)

I think the shipping time often depends upon the carrier, so it really depends what you are willing to pay versus how quickly you really want your stuff. To that end it might be worth knowing how long the company took to ship it to you as well as the total time it took to get your order. I am in the UK and my most recent orders were as follows:
Canton Tea Co (UK) – shipped same working day if ordered during office hours. Arrived the following day every time.
Dragon Tea House (China) – shipped two days after order. Arrived two weeks later.

I mainly order from China(for many reasons but mainly because tea is produced there… :p) and I can’t afford high shipping, so cheapest shipping takes like 2-4 weeks.

Sometimes it takes like 5 weeks(if it’s Christmas or something) but it doesn’t happen very often. All of the sellers can send you very fast if you ask them too, but you’ll pay more. Once I ordered for a friend and had the money to pay for expensive shipping and tea was here(Greece) in 1 week from Taiwan.

i learned mines this time, i ordered from oversea a few time and had to wait a bit but not like this, i will make sure that no holidays or anything is going to get in the way next time, im still waiting on one last shipment to come in that was ordered at at bad time lol

Apparently I am lucky, because it never takes very long for stuff to arrive at my house.
52teas: 2-4 days
verdant: 2-3 days
asha: 2-4 days (from across the country, too)
david’s tea: 2-5 days (and that’s coming from canada!)
teavana: 1 day (turns out their distribution center is in my state)

I recently ordered online from David’s Tea. I live in BC and within Canada they ship from Quebec. I put my order in over a week ago and it’s still sitting at the post office in Montreal. They’re pretty slow.

Actually Stephanie that’s a Canada Post thing. You’ll find that it won’t update despite it being on a plane or truck and halfway to you already. I’ve checked before bed one night and it said Montreal, and then it arrived later the next afternoon. I’m in ON so things are a bit faster, but I suspect your package will be there any day now.